Waldoboro police searching for man during blizzard find him dead

WALDOBORO, Maine (NEWS CENTER) - After an aborted chase, police in Waldoboro are investigating the death of a man who perished outside during the weekend's historic blizzard.

In a media release, Waldoboro Police Chief Bill Labombarde wrote that officers answered reports of a disturbance at a home on Winslow Mills Road around 6:15 PM Saturday.

By the time they arrived, Frank Leathers, a man who police were interested in talking to, had left. Police were apparently told that Leathers, who is from Waldoboro, had left the home on foot and was headed to a friend's place.

A police officer tried to follow tracks that Leathers left in the snow. The officer found that they led into the woods. As a result of deep snow and the driving snow, the officer had to stop his initial pursuit.

More police officers and the Fire Chief showed up later Saturday evening and conducted a more thorough search. They called it off sometime after midnight.

Searchers returned to the area at 8:00 AM Sunday, this time with the help of a Game Warden. After about three hours of searching, crews found Leathers dead in the woods several hundred yards off the road.